


Might as well Smile

by karrenia_rune



Category: Andromeda (TV)
Genre: Early in Canon, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-16
Updated: 2017-01-16
Packaged: 2018-09-17 19:52:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,225
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9340730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karrenia_rune/pseuds/karrenia_rune
Summary: Harper decides to play a prank on his captain;  with mixed results.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [scribblemyname](https://archiveofourown.org/users/scribblemyname/gifts).



Disclaimer: Andromeda belongs to Tribune Entertainment and Fireworks Productions as well as the characters who appear here or are mentioned. They are not mine. This set right before the beginning of the events from the first season. The title was inspired by the Beth Hart song  
of the same name.

"It might take a while (Might as Well Smile)

If he were to analyze the situation he might have had more than a few misgivings about the current undertaking. If involving Trance in it, well, the potential payoff if, wait, scratch that; when it was successful  
were enormous. Of course, if they crashed and burned spectacularly, well, the lumps and recriminations he would receive would be doled out by a factor of two.

There was not a whole lot of hiding places aboard the Eureka Maru, however, Harper knew the gritty, tough cargo ship like he knew the back of his hand. Talking Trance into participating had been easier, and in some way, he felt appealed to her sense of adventure.

Trance met him down in the cargo bay hiding her translucent purple-hued skin underneath a standard-issue work coverall with the hood pulled up.

"You made it," he said.

"As if I would miss this," she replied mock-teasingly. 

"Beka won't be back from negotiating with a rare antique broker for at least another two hours, so if we're gonna do this, we'd best do it quickly and quietly."

"Agreed," replied Trance. 

"This is just a harmless prank, nothing more." Harper stepped forward and pressed his index finger up against her lips, "Shh. Don't say it, or you'll jinx it."

"All right What do we do now?"

"You stand guard, and whistle like an owl if you see either Rev Bem or Beka coming this way."

"Where will you be?" "I'm gonna grab the goods, mind you, not all of them, or she'll get suspicious."

"Harper, might I put out something. Is not what we are doing akin to stealing?" "No, no Trance, it's just a harmless prank, and we're not stealing," Harper replied, then offered her one of his trade-mark off-kilter reassuring grins. "We're merely misappropriating a few of her classic Old-Earth Cds."

"I understand, and I shall take up my position."

Harper went to the cache in the cargo bay where Beka kept her collection wrapped in crates protectively wrapped in plastic and pried up the lid with the crowbar he had brought along. Just to be on the safe side he took a look through the collection. Old Earth had boasted an eclectic selection of styles, genres, and eras. He chooses seven and stuffed them into the pockets of his orange cargo pants. 

That done he closed the crate and placed it back into the position it had been in. 

Beka, well, she was his captain and even though she had found him, saved him from a pretty bad situation; they had forged a relationship that still felt as if she was a stern but a fair older sibling. Definitely not someone to be trifled with. "Just a harmless prank, just a harmless prank. She might not even notice," he repeated to himself under his breath.

Harper scampered across the length of the cargo bay over to where Trance kept watch, and whispered in her ear, "I got it."

However, Harper could not help but notice that Trance Gemini smelled like vanilla and lilacs or something bathed in sunlight and fresh air. "No, no, get a grip, man," thought Harper.  
*** Beka got back early and decided that she needed a shower, but before she did that she would just dart over to the cargo bay and pick out one of the rock CDS from her collection. On the way, a slim figure in a gray hood darted past her that she only glimpsed for a few seconds out of the corner of her eye.

"Nah," Beka drawled, rolling her shoulder muscles. "It couldn't be. She continued on her way. She arrived at the cargo bay and opened one of the crates. She had loaded an app that kept a running catalog of her collection, but she had been building it from a very young age.

Even though she had spent the majority of her childhood aboard this ship and even to this day had never been entirely comfortable planet-side; this was still her collection, and she had spent a lot of time and effort building it up; she almost had it memorized.

So when she discovered that seven titles were missing at first she assumed that she had simply misplaced them. She checked and rechecked, nope, still unaccounted for. From that point on it wasn't hard to place the blame in the right place. 

Beka slammed the lid of the crated and marched out of the room, up the corridors and then down to the cargo bay, thoughts of delayed mayhem swirling through her mind like water eddies.  
*** She found Harper bent over exposed circuitry with protective goggles over his eyes. "Harper!"

"Yeah, Boss?" Harper replied evenly removing the goggles and replacing the metal panel. "What's up?"

"Don't pretend you don't know! I've got the list of the missing items right here! And I want to know where you've stashed them and I want to know right now. Because, if you don't tell me I swear I am going to rearrange your face!" "Sheesh, Boss," Harper tried with a mollifying tone. It was just a harmless prank; there's no need to go, ah rearranging this charming, handsome mug of mine. I'm still using it."

"Not for much longer," Beka muttered under her breath as she took several more steps towards her target.

"Okay, okay!" Harper said. "I'll tell you. They're underneath your seat on the bridge in a protective case. Of course, you'll need me, or rather my fingerprints to unlock it, but otherwise the stuff is all there. I swear."

Beka's temper flared hot and fierce while it lasted but eventually flared out. She still wanted to be mad at Harper because being mad at Harper and then letting him off the hook when she cooled off seemed to be the nature of how their relationship worked. 

"Oh, all right," Beka agreed., "but we'll go right now. Just tell me one thing," she added as they walked out and away from the cargo bay and back up to the bridge.

"Sure, Boss, anything you want."

"Did you pull off this prank of yours alone or did you drag anyone else into it with you?"

Harper grinned. "A part of me wants to tell you that it was all me, myself and I, and you'd believe me. Truth?"

"Truth," Beka agreed.

"I talked Trance into helping me."

"Don't worry," Harper replied, "She only served as a look-out and a distraction should you happen to return to the bridge of the Maru earlier than expected."

"Okay, okay, but from now on, Harper... she trailed off significantly.

"Yeah?"

"Leave my stuff alone."

"You got it. Just one question, Boss."

"Just one?" Beka asked.

"Hah, hah, very funny. "But do you have a favorite genre?"

"I think I prefer something with a steady throbbing beat and a good tempo."

"I do, too. It reminds me of the ship," he replied as they reached the bridge and he opened the box just as he promised he would.


End file.
